Goto

Collaborating Authors

 billionaire


A.I. Is Now a Major Election Issue

The New Yorker

A.I. Is Now a Major Election Issue As Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's newly elected Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, put it, "People really effing hate data centers." This summer, as the ideologically fractious Democratic primaries begin to recede and the politically pivotal midterm elections edge nearer, candidates and voters alike have had their attention drawn by vast, humming edifices newly constructed on the outskirts of towns. Abdul El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former public-health official who finished a deft insurgent campaign by becoming Michigan's Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, sounded a theme that helped decide primaries in his state and in Kansas last week. "People really effing hate data centers," he said. That kind of consensus is rare in politics right now.


'If we don't fight back, we don't have a future': the journalist taking on the 'tech fascists' of Silicon Valley

The Guardian

'Maga is a cult of grievance that seeks to purge its enemies by demonising them through absurd and surreal propaganda' Gil Durán. 'Maga is a cult of grievance that seeks to purge its enemies by demonising them through absurd and surreal propaganda' Gil Durán. 'If we don't fight back, we don't have a future': the journalist taking on the'tech fascists' of Silicon Valley I n April, Gil Durán was permanently banned from Elon Musk's X for posting just two words. Durán was responding to a post from the tech company Palantir outlining its 22 point "technological manifesto", which praised American "hard power", western culture and AI weapons, denounced inclusivity and called for compulsory national service. Durán responded: "TLDR: Fascism" (TLDR is short for "too long, didn't read").


Rocky week for AI as shares slump but no sign of crash – yet

The Guardian

Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2026. Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2026. The markets are souring on artificial intelligence, but is this the bubble being burst? Today, we're discussing a rocky week for the AI industry's finances and how California's proposed billionaire's tax is changing the political posture of the state's governor. AI is facing a financial stress test, but the bubble hasn't popped After the share prices of Alphabet, Samsung, and SK Hynix dropped, a global stock selloff caused markets worldwide to slump.


Elon Musk Is the World's First Trillionaire

WIRED

SpaceX's stock market debut has thrust the richest man in the universe into an unexplored frontier of wealth. There are thousands of billionaires across the world. But there is only one trillionaire. Elon Musk became the first person to amass a personal fortune of over $1,000,000,000,000--that's 12 zeros--after shares of his rocket company SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday. SpaceX's initial public offering on Thursday valued the company at nearly $1.8 trillion, up from its most recent private valuation of around $1.25 trillion.


Pope Leo Schooled the Tech Bros on Tolkien

WIRED

The Holy Father referenced in his encyclical about AI--an expert (if unintentional) troll of tech billionaires who keep misinterpreting the series. Nobody was surprised that Pope Leo XIV cited well-known saints and previous pontiffs in his first encyclical, or papal letter of spiritual guidance,, released Monday. But the name that immediately jumped out to many readers is one synonymous with high fantasy literature: J.R.R. Tolkien, the Catholic author of . Leo's letter is concerned with "safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence," a major theme of his first year as leader of the Catholic Church. Drawing from his predecessor, Pope Francis, he warns of "the growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm," one capable of "reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency."


Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner embraces democratic socialism at Bernie Sanders rally in Portland

FOX News

Graham Platner, Maine's presumptive Democratic Senate nominee, embraced democratic socialism at a Bernie Sanders rally, condemning Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. support for Israel.


Tech leaders funding Matt Mahan's campaign for California governor say it's not about tech

Los Angeles Times

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Tech leaders funding Matt Mahan's campaign for California governor say it's not about tech This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . San José Mayor Matt Mahan's late-entry bid for California governor has been supercharged by millions from Silicon Valley billionaires. Critics say that will make Mahan beholden to Big Tech if he wins, but several of his funders from the tech sector said their backing isn't about deregulation or favors, but Mahan's centrist focus on crime, homelessness, housing and education.


Musk v Altman: The most toxic row in tech goes on trial

BBC News

The bitter feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI boss Sam Altman has raged for years, but has mostly played out online in the form of accusations, counter-accusations and jibes. But starting on Tuesday, the beef between the two tech billionaires will shift to a much higher-profile forum: a federal courtroom in California, where their row will be the focus of a month-long trial. Being considered is Musk's claim that Altman - with whom he founded OpenAI - has swindled him out of millions of dollars and reneged on the ChatGPT-maker's original non-profit mission. Musk and Altman themselves will be among those to testify in a case in which the future of AI could be at stake. And while one will presumably emerge the winner, it's plausible that neither will emerge from the saga unscathed.


Musk and Altman's bitter feud over OpenAI to be laid bare in court

The Guardian

The tech titans are slated to duke it out in court. The tech titans are slated to duke it out in court. Musk and Altman's bitter feud over OpenAI to be laid bare in court Tesla chief believes Altman broke company's founding agreement - and legal battle promises to be explosive T he bitter rivalry between two of the tech world's most powerful men arrives in court this week, as Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI heads to trial in Oakland, California. The case is set to feature some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, and its outcome could affect the course of the AI boom. Musk's suit, filed in 2024, focuses on the formative years of OpenAI when he, Altman and others co-founded the artificial intelligence company as a nonprofit with a grand purpose.


Tennessee Teens Sue Elon Musk's xAI Over Child Sexual Abuse Images

Mother Jones

Support journalism that doesn't flinch . Support journalism that doesn't flinch . Elon Musk leaves a meeting with House Republicans in the basement of the US Capitol building on March 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Tennessee teenagers are suing Elon Musk's company xAI over allegations that its artificial intelligence tool Grok undressed photos of them as minors--the latest challenge against the wealthiest living person's chatbot .